Would you date someone with a dark past (dating, boyfriend, girlfriend)

[stevebri]

Would you date someone who admitted to you they were in prison for assault, and has admitted to past criminal activity? A friend of mine is sweet on someone like this. As far as I know this guy has a good job now, but she knows little else about him, like if he was ever married or has a girlfriend. They have been talking for about a month now, both in person and on the phone.

[headhunter18]

Everyone deserves a second chance in life.

[lisan23]

Sure, but it depends on circumstances and other information. Like - what was the assault charge for? And I'd look up the actual court record (since it should be public) and see what the story was. I realize that's not trusting the person, but there's not a whole lot of trust there when you first start dating.

Everyone has a past, what matters is how they've moved on and if they've learned from their mistakes.

[TaoistDude]

It would depend on the nature of the crime, and how long ago it was. E.g., Civil disobedience can be a crime, but it can also be justifiable if it's fighting injustice that's enshrined in dubious law. As long as there was no violence against another person (except self-defense), I'd be more forgiving.

[lilamx]

It depends on what the charge was. I agree with lisan, it really depends on the circusmtances, the person, what the assault was, if they've really changed, etc.

[seeniorita]

Originally Posted by stevebri

Would you date someone who admitted to you they were in prison for assault, and has admitted to past criminal activity? A relative of mine is sweet on someone like this. As far as I know this guy has a good job now, but she knows little else about him, like if he was ever married or has a girlfriend. They have been talking for about a month now, both in person and on the phone.

Your friend knows he's got a criminal past and a good job but doesn't know if he's got a girlfriend? I think having a gf would be THE dealbreaker for me, not what criminal activity he was involved in. At that point, it's irrelevant.

Sounds like she needs to brush up on her detective skills before she goes and gets "sweet" on a guy.

[LuckyGem]

It depends on what the offense was.

I would be inclined to be more open to a person who did not have a criminal offense against another person.

[Big-Bad-John]

Felony.... NO Misdemeanor.... Yes

[Ulysses61]

Well, criminal activity encompasses a wide variety of things. A DUI is "criminal activity," but I would have no problem with that, as long as it's one DUI. I agree, that everyone deserves a second chance in life. As long as there is no violence against people or animals, I would probably be OK with it.

If someone was embezzling money, shoplifting... yeah, I would surely forgive that. But beating a woman? Rape? NO.

[lisan23]

Hmmm... see, I have to disagree. There are some pretty ridiculous felony charges someone can have. For instance, an 18 yo female in California giving a bj to her 17 year old boyfriend and getting caught by the police - felony.

Breaking the encryption code on DVD's - felony. Ya, there are plenty of felonies that someone could commit that wouldn't really bother me at all.

Even violence against another person... I'd still consider dating them. I know plenty of people who when they're young get drunk at bars and get in fights. Getting in a bar fight isn't enough to get me to say no way. In most states assault is defined as touching someone who doesn't want to be touched.

It becomes very subjective, like I said, for me it would be very case by case basis and depend entirely on what happened and where the person is now compared to where they were before.